So the headlines looked very positive for net neutrality: << "Today's vote is a great step towards strengthening the telecommunications single market. Parliament wants to abolish retail roaming charges for voice, SMS and data by 15 December 2015 and improve radio spectrum management to develop 4G and 5G throughout Europe", said rapporteur Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP, ES).
“We have achieved further guarantees to maintain the openness of the Internet by ensuring that users can run and provide applications and services of their choice as well as reinforcing the Internet as a key driver of competitiveness, economic growth, jobs, social development and innovation”, she added. Ms del Castillo's report was approved by 534 votes to 25, with 58 abstentions. >> http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20140331IPR41232/html/Ensure-open-access-for-internet-service-suppliers-and-ban-roaming-fees-say-MEPs However the detail going forward is less clear. There were as is normal a number of earlier votes in plenary on the various amendments. Those votes were often a bit closer. Then of course the big vote was a foregone conclusion? Well who was going to vote against a package with the roaming part in it? So soon we will get a new set of MEPs whose representatives will then negotiate with the Council on the basis of what the Parliament just adopted. Where is the Council on this? Well there are some views on EDRi's web-site: http://edri.org/net-neutrality-happens-next/ The mood in Brussels yesterday - there was yet another net neutrality event - was that this is not over yet by any means. Gordon The text: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2014-0281+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN The votes: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fNONSGML%2bPV%2b20140403%2bRES-VOT%2bDOC%2bPDF%2bV0%2f%2fEN&language=EN
